While Were at It We Also Talked About How Much It Was Never Funnyqleslie Jones

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People who tune into the HBO Max pirate comedy Our Flag Ways Death aren't going to be surprised by the tone or nature of the humor. Co-stars Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby worked together on the Television receiver series Flying of the Conchords and Waititi's movies Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows. (Darby, famously, was the profanity-antisocial leader of the "werewolves, not swearwolves" pack.) The new series shares some of the same subdued absurdist comedy they use in those projects, built around the aforementioned kinds of incessantly bad-mannered, puffed-up strivers who accept no idea how ridiculous they look to everyone effectually them. This time, Darby stars every bit bad-mannered, incompetent pirate helm Stede Bonnet, and Waititi backs him up as his partner and mentor, Edward Teach — aka the notorious pirate Blackbeard.

What may surprise people, though, is that the show's silly confrontations, outsized characters, and weird story developments are all fatigued from real history. Stede Bonnet, the "Gentleman Pirate," was an actual 18th-century plantation possessor who abandoned his wife and children, bought a send, and declared himself its captain, in spite of his lack of nautical experience. He was notoriously inept at the task, and the records of his career show him repeatedly being wounded, captured, or suborned as captain. He did in fact current of air up partnering with Blackbeard, in a troubled human relationship seemingly designed to fuel plot twists.

While the historical tape marks some of the facts — what ships he looted, when he lost control of his own send, and so on — in that location'south relatively little data well-nigh the smaller details of his life, or most what happened between him and Blackbeard to crusade the various wrinkles in their personal and piratical human relationship. Our Flag Means Decease creator and showrunner David Jenkins (who also created the 2016 TBS serial People of Globe) tells Polygon that the mysteries effectually their relationship inspired him to plow their lives into a comedy series.

"I saw a really great story with a lot of holes in it," Jenkins says. "And a great start: This guy has a midlife crisis, and then he blows upwardly his family and his life. And so he becomes a pirate. Which already is a couple of different genres at one time — it'south like true crime, mixed with whatever genre 'midlife crisis' is. So he's bad at it, and and so he gets stabbed, and then he meets the earth's greatest pirate, who befriends him. And we don't know why any of these things happened. Figuring out how to patch those holes in the story — only making it up — was actually the reason to do it, in my book."

In a group interview ahead of the prove's release, Jenkins, Darby, and Waititi (who also executive produced Our Flag and directed its pilot episode) talked to Polygon nigh their roles on the series, the balance between improv and scripts, and why Waititi thinks the prove might inspire other people to ditch their lives and take upward piracy — though he advises against it.

This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet and Samson Kayo as his crewman Oluwande

Photo: Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max

Were the residuum of you aware of Stede Bonnet before the testify started?

Taika Waititi: No, I had never heard of Stede until David told me about him, when we first met over the phone. I'd heard of Blackbeard, simply knew goose egg about him. And then when I talked to David more about Blackbeard, I got the feeling that I probably shouldn't carp doing any research. I did a tiny bit, enough to notice out no one knew anything about him, and I thought, "That's perfect. Now I don't have any homework. Or have to learn an accent!"

Rhys Darby: Yes, I didn't actually know about the guy, but upon reading a scrap most him, he's very intriguing! This guy'south a huge risk-taker, and something about him lets people believe in him. He'southward very troubled. And his drives are the almost complicated thing to attempt and work out. Why did he get out the married woman and kids? Why did he go into the most notoriously bad, dangerous profession you could ever do? You think, "He probably won't survive." And of class, he didn't. But he lasted a surprisingly long time, really, for someone who had absolutely no skills, apart from walking in high heels. I wanted to be that person considering I knew there were elements of his life that I could relate to — that kind of overconfidence, and no 1 believing in me.

Waititi: Stede, to a lot of usa, is a kind of heroic figure, because he had the balls to do it. I think a lot of people are gonna watch this show and then turn to look at the business firm around them and say, "This is not my beautiful wife, this is not my cute house." They're going to look all the way around, and they're gonna be like, "Should I … become a pirate? Should I?" They're going to question things about their lives. It's not to say that they've made the incorrect decisions to get where they are, but that questioning is a matter we all exercise. I don't think you should ever say, "Yeah, I should definitely go and be a pirate." "Screw up your life and get be a pirate!" is non what the show is maxim. But it is tapping into this inherent sense of —

Darby: "Are yous happy?"

Waititi: "Take I had plenty hazard? Take I actually lived my life?" We all feel that.

David Jenkins: And then there's a office of it where — wherever you go, in that location y'all are.

Waititi: Yeah, you can't escape yourself.

Jenkins: You lot're still gonna exist fucked upward. You didn't fix your baggage by running away from it. Stede idea he could outrun his baggage, and yous can't outrun your baggage.

Darby: You lot take your luggage with you.

Waititi: I'm loving where this is going. Y'all're dragging the baggage along, and then yous get on a gunkhole with the baggage. And the baggage is made out of lead.

Darby: But here's the affair — he could accept dropped all his fancy garments, put on some crappy clothes, and simply joined a crew. He would have spoken a lot better than the others, merely he could accept faked that, and he could have just been a crappy crew fellow member. But he decided "No, I'thousand going to be the helm!" It doesn't make any sense!

This show fits so much into the themes of Taika's piece of work, from What We Do in the Shadows to Thor: Ragnarok , about people self-mythologizing, creating these proud images for themselves that the existent world completely undercuts. How did that end upwardly existence such a central idea here?

Jenkins: It seems like information technology appeals to both of usa. And I think there's a lot of overlap in terms of what appeals to u.s. in comedy. Definitely in this, I really like something near a grapheme in existential freefall, because I feel that way. I retrieve anybody feels that mode, on some level, and likes to see it reflected onscreen. As opposed to, similar, James Bond, who'south invulnerable. Who cares? I don't care nearly James Bond. That'due south why at that place are twenty movies almost him — anyone tin play James Bond. Rhys, you could play James Bond if yous wanted.

Darby: Tin can you brand that happen, Taika?

Waititi: Aye, done.

Jenkins: I think to play someone who is in this much hurting, and do it as a one-act — that's wonderful for me. I remember on some level, we all feel like that, and we desire to see that reflected onscreen. Simply I don't want to see it in a drama. I want to laugh when I run into information technology. I desire to feel it, but I want to laugh.

Waititi: Yeah, I echo that. I'm attracted to characters who are only trying badly to be seen, or to be cool, or merely to be pulled in from the margins. And often, when that happens, they realize, "Oh, information technology was mode cooler style out there, way cooler with a pocket-size group of my people. We were unique!" And so that self-realization, the idea that people always want something more, and then when it's presented to you, it's actually one of the worst things, information technology's actually the biggest curse you lot can have — I love those stories.

Jenkins: Information technology'due south the oldest story — exist careful what you wish for.

Waititi: And the things you'll cede forth the style to what you wish for — your friendships and relationships and the things that made you who you are, the things that made your existent friends see you, those are the things you'll give up to fit in.

Photo: Aaron Epstein/HBO Max

The evidence is telling a big key story that's plain carefully planned, merely I've also talked to Leslie Jones, who says at that place was a lot of improv on the set. How did scripting and improv feed into what we're seeing onscreen?

Jenkins: I don't call back there was enough improv on ready! We had an insane schedule, with a huge corporeality of plot. Nosotros were budgeted and designed equally a one-hour show, but with a half-60 minutes production schedule, which means nosotros actually had to chase these episodes to go them shot. And then there are certain emotional beats that we really needed. So trying to find places to detect the fun was hard.

There were wonderful things in there — there was an improvisation between Rhys and Taika at the end of the show where I remember everyone clapped on the set. Information technology was awesome. Taika did some crazy judo move, and it's in there in its entirety. You try to find those things fifty-fifty while you're moving forward and trying to advance the characters.

Waititi: That's the thing — improv even so needs to move the scene forrard, and move the story forward. It tin't but be two people doing puns on the same theme again and once again, which is a very American style of improv that's kind of pointless. What I've found equally a manager is that there aren't a lot of people who tin actually practice it. Some people are merely non suited to it. I think it's actually dangerous to just open it up to every single thespian and go, "Let's improvise!" because it'due south only chaos. Anybody gets pissed off with each other, because no one'south listening. So information technology'southward a residuum you take to take.

Jenkins: It's interesting considering the bandage limerick. I really similar it when you tin can build a visitor of people from unlike traditions — nosotros have Con O'Neill from Chernobyl, and Rory Kinnear from the James Bond movies, and then people from Saturday Dark Alive, and then people like Rhys and Taika. And it's like, everyone's a little scared of each other when it starts, because —

Waititi: Dissimilar gangs coming together.

Jenkins: Everyone comes from a different affair, and they're similar "Oh, shit, you're really a serious thespian!" and "Oh, shit, yous're actually funny. I'chiliad not funny!"

Waititi: Oh, hither comes the Meisner guy! [In four completely different tones.] Meisner guy! Meisner guy! Meisner guy! Meisner guy!

Taika, after doing so much piece of work as a director, how do you arroyo something this complicated as an role player?

Waititi: Well, luckily for me, my directing here had finished before I did any interim. That'due south a condolement zone for me, directing myself, simply I'm starting to feel like I'd adopt to concentrate merely on the acting in a given scene. I think I'm better when I exercise that. When I'k directing, I'll just give myself the easiest shit to practice. A lot of the time when I'thou directing, if I'm running out of time, I'll say "My character doesn't even need to exist in this scene. I dressed up in all this stuff all day for nada." [To David.] How was I with the other directors, though?

Jenkins: I thought you were good with them. I hateful, information technology's intimidating when yous're coming in and directing a managing director. I was anticipating a little, like, "Euuugh, how'south this gonna become?"

Darby: There were a few times when you were like, "Oh, I wouldn't accept done that." [General laughter.] Not to the director, but he said that to me.

Waititi: I'd only come up upward backside them like, "Huh. Mmmkay. Well, that's … Well, it's your episode."

Jenkins: Earlier "Action!" there was a lot of [Sucks teeth doubtfully.] "Ahhh. Hmm. You're going to make that option."

Darby: I think the two of us can be hard to direct sometimes, when it'southward the two of us, when we're together, because nosotros're like, "Nah, we know what nosotros're doing. Nosotros know where this is going to go, so just let u.s.a. practice it."

Waititi: Nosotros're finding a rhythm sometimes, and the director goes, "Cutting! Great!" and Nosotros're like, "Simply … we just, nosotros could feel the electricity! We're about to create this beautiful little improv baby for you!"

The offset three episodes of Our Flag Means Death are at present on HBO Max. New episodes drop every Th.

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Source: https://www.polygon.com/22959205/our-flag-means-death-taika-waititi-interview-showrunner-david-jenkins-rhys-darby

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